Partial List of Current Graduate Students

The information on this page is provided with the consent of the individual students listed. The list reflects their current research interests as formed through their participation in the Religious Studies graduate program at UCSB. Currently, the program is host to about 90 students (MA/PhD, PhD, and MA II).

Ryan Adams (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2001.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2006.
• Areas of Study: East Asia--Chinese Religions, Religion and Culture, History of Religions, Anthropology of Religions, Philosophy of Religion, Technologies of the Self/Body (including Alchemy, Asceticism, Mysticism, Monasticism, Meditation, Ritual and Pilgrimage), the Production of Space, Charisma.
• E-mail Address: an.ryanadams@gmail.com

Rana Ajrawat (MA/PhD)

• BA, Middle Eastern Studies, New York University, 2003.
• Areas of Study: Punjab and Sikh Studies, Diaspora Interaction with the Punja, Religious Institutions of the Punjab, Religious Societies of the Punjab.
• Email Address: ranaajrawat@gmail.com

Elliott Bazzano (PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies, Humboldt State University, 2004.
• MA, Religion/Islamic Studies, Duke University, 2005.
• Areas of Study: Sufism/Islamic Studies, Ghazali, Evolution of Ideas,
  (Qura'nic) Interpretation, Intra/Inter-Religious Pluralism, Ethics, Mysticism, Arabic.
• Email Address: bazzano@umail.ucsb.edu

Evan Berry (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religion, The Colorado College, 1999.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2003.
• Areas of Study: Religion and Nature, Contemporary Forms of Spirituality, Implicit Religion, Religion in American Culture and in the Modern West, Philosophy of Religion, Sociology of Religion, Sacred Space.
• Email Address: berry@umail.ucsb.edu

Ali Bjerke (MA/PhD)

• BA, Philosophy, Stanford University, 2002.
• Areas of Study: Philosophy of Religion, Feminist Theory.
• Email Address: abjerke@umail.ucsb.edu

Drew Bourn (PhD)

• BA, Religion, Earlham College, 1991.
• MTS, World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, 2000.
• Areas of Study: World Religions as Practiced within the United States, Post-Structuralist Theories of Subjectivity and Representation.
• Email Address: diogenes@hotmail.com

Kendall Busse (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies, Kenyon College, 2002.
• Areas of Study: South Asian Religions, Material Culture, Embodiment, Sacred Space, Pilgrimage, Sanskrit.
• Email Address: kendall_busse@umail.ucsb.edu

J. Russell Cambron (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies, Georgia State University, 2003.
• Areas of Study: Native American Religious Traditions, Queer Theory, Christian Influences on Indigenous Gender and Sexuality in the United States from Contact to the Present, and U.S. Nationalism.
• Email Address: rcambron@umail.ucsb.edu

Travis Chilcott (PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2001.
• MSt Study of Religion, University of Oxford, 2002.
• Areas of Study: Contemporary Debates about Mysticism and Religious Experience, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Sanskrit, South Asia in general, Hare Krishna Movement.
• Email Address: tlc@umail.ucsb.edu

Brian Clearwater (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies/Anthropology, University of Tennessee, 1999.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2006.
• Areas of Study: Indigenous Religious Traditions, Race and Religion, Creolized Religions in Brazil and North America, "Shamanism," Law, and Whiteness.
• Email Address: clearwater@umail.ucsb.edu

David Cooper (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies and English, College of Wooster, 1999.
• Thomas J. Watson Fellow, 1999-2000.
• Areas of Study: Tibetan Buddhism, South Asian Religions, Monasticism, Literature, Humor.
• Email Address: dcooper@umail.ucsb.edu

Julianne Cordero (MA/PhD)

• BA, Anthropology and Native American Studies, The Evergreen State College, 1994.
• Areas of Study: Botanical Healing and American Spirituality, Religion and Ecology, Native American Religious Traditions, Religion in Western Civilization, Ancient European Religious and Medical Traditions, and Native American Linguistics.
• Email Address: jcordero@umail.ucsb.edu

Elizabeth (Beth) Currans (PhD) with an Emphasis in Women's Studies

• BA, English and Women's Studies, Colorado State, 1994.
• MA, Folklore and Women's Studies, University of Oregon, 1999.
• CPhil, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2003.
• Areas of Study: Feminist Theory, Queer Theory, Performance Studies, Subjectivity, Embodiment, Political Belief, Contemporary American Religious Expression, Cultural Studies, Social Movements.
• Email Address: bcurrans@umail.ucsb.edu

Finbarr Curtis (PhD)

• BA, Columbia University, 1995.
• MA, Vanderbilt University, 1999.
• Areas of Study: American Religions, Social Theory, Aesthetics of Nationalism, Pragmatism, Evangelicalism, Catholicism, The Holy Spirit.
• Email Address: finbarr@umail.ucsb.edu

Caleb Elfenbein (PhD)

• BA, Political Science, Vassar College, 1998.
• MTS, Harvard University, 2001.
• Areas of Study: Religion and Politics, Religion and Public Policy, Middle Eastern Politics, Islam, Postcolonial Theory.
• Email Address: che@umail.ucsb.edu

David S. Fowler (MA/PhD)

• BA, South Asian Studies, University of Washington, 1999.
• BA, Religion & Asian Languages and Literature, University of Washington, 2005.
• Areas of Study: Early History of South Asian Religions, Sikh Studies, Guru
  Nanak, Punjabi and Sanskrit.
• Email Address: dsfowler@umail.ucsb.edu

Rahuldeep Singh Gill (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religion, University of Rochester, 2002.
• Honors project in Sikh exegetical texts and boundary construction.
• Certificate in Political Science, University of Rochester.
• Areas of Study: Religions of Punjab, Theories of Religion, and Religious Studies Methodology.
• Email Address: rahuldeep@umail.ucsb.edu

Annalise Glauz-Todrank (MA/PhD)

• BA, World Religions, Human Rights, and the Arts, Hampshire College, 2000.
• Areas of Study: Religious Conflict in Israel and in India, Jews in Modern Europe, Religion and Politics, Roles of Race and Gender within and between Religious Communities.
• Email Address: annalise@umail.ucsb.edu

Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand (PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies and Women's Studies, Western Michigan University, 2000.
• MA, Religious Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2004.
• Areas of Study: Religion, Politcs, and the Law; Gender, Race, and Religion in the United States.
• Email Address: grayhildenbrand@umail.ucsb.edu

Robert L. Green, Jr. (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies, CSU Bakersfield, 2003.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2006.
• Areas of Study: Filipino Religious History, Native American and Indigenous Religious Traditions, Early Colonial Mexico, African Religions, the Atlantic Slave Trade, Political Thought and Theology in Sixteenth-Century Europe, Late Medieval and Early Modern Iberia (Portugal and Spain), Catholicism and Iberian Colonialism.
• Email Address: rlgreen3@umail.ucsb.edu

Anna Hennessey (PhD)

• BA, Philosophy and Language, New York University, 1997.
• MA, Art History, UC Santa Barbara, 2005.
• Areas of Study: China, East Asian Religions, Philosophy of Religion, Material Culture, Art, Sacred Space.
• Email Address: amhennessey@umail.ucsb.edu

Aysha Hidayatullah (MA/PhD)

• BA, English/Women's Studies, Emory University, 2001.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2005.
• Areas of Study: Feminist Theology, Feminist Re-interpretation of Islam, Women in Early Islamic History.
• Email Address: aysha@umail.ucsb.edu

Michael Jerryson (PhD) with an Emphasis in Global Studies

• BA, Western Philosophy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1996.
• MA, Languages and Cultures of Asia (South Asia and Mongolia focus), University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2000.
• Areas of Study: Buddhist Violence, Thai Buddhism, Mongolian Buddhism, Performance Studies, Race Studies, Global Religions.
• Email Address: mjerryson@yahoo.com

Dennis Kelley (MA/PhD)

• BA, Anthropology, California State University, Fresno.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara.
• Areas of Study: Religion and Identity, Religion and the Subaltern Experience, American Indian Religious Traditions, Sociology of American Religious History, Myth and Symbol Theory.
• Email Address: kelleydf@missouri.edu

Elizabeth V. Kerr (MA/PhD)

• BA, Anthropology, University of North Carolina, 2003.
• Areas of Study: Religious Pluralism and Secularization, American Religion, Sacred Space in America, Religion and Nature, Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Science.
• Email Address: elizabethkerr@umail.ucsb.edu

Mimi Khuc (MA/PhD)

• BA, Sociology, Minor in Religious Studies, University of Maryland College Park, 2003.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2006.
• Areas of Study: Asian American Religions, Vietnamese Americans, N ew Age Movements, Buddhism in America, Feminist Studies.
• Email Address: mimikhuc@umail.ucsb.edu

Brett Land (PhD)

• BS, Pyschology, Francis Marion University, 1999.
• MA, Religion, Florida State University, 2002.
• Areas of Study: Philosophy of Religion, Messianism, Religious Ethics, Hermeneutics, Problems of Writing.
• Email Address: landbrett@umail.ucsb.edu

Zoran Lazovic (PhD)

• BS, Psychology, Belgrade University, Yugoslavia, 1990.
• MA, Buddhist Studies, Naropa University, 1999.
• Areas of Study: Indian Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhist Tantras, Theory of Religion, Sanskrit and Tibetan Languages.
• Email Address: zoranlazovic@umail.ucsb.edu

Jonathan H.X. Lee (PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Sociology, UC Riverside, 1999.
• MA, Cultural Historical Studies of Religion, Graduate Theological Union, 2002.
• Areas of Study: Chinese Religions and Asian Diaspora in America.
• Email Address: jonathan_lee@umail.ucsb.edu

Gabriel Levy (MA/PhD)

• BA, Anthropology and Religion, Dartmouth College, 1999.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2002.
• Areas of Study: Religion and Culture, Judaism, Linguistics and the Philosophy of Language and Belief Systems, Anthropology of Religion, Religious Semantics, Genius.
• Email Address: gjl@umail.ucsb.edu

Jared Lindahl (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies (Religions of Asia and Western Philosophy), Northern Arizona University, 2001.
• MA, Religious Studies (Religions of South Asia), UC Santa Barbara, 2005.
• Areas of Study: Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy, Religions of Tibet and Mongolia, Theories of Space in the Study of East Asian Religions, Asceticism and Mysticism in Early and Medieval Christianity, the Comparative Study of Religion.
• Email Address: lindahl@umail.ucsb.edu

Emily Linthicum (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religion, North Carolina State University, 2004.
• Areas of Study: American Religions, New Religious Movements, Race and Gender, Protestant Fundamentalism.
• Email Address: emily_linthicum@umail.ucsb.edu

Chloe Martinez (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religion and Englsih, Barnard College, 2001.
• Areas of Study: Hinduism, Punjab/Rajasthan, Sikh Traditions, Devotional Poetry in South Asia, Bhakti Traditions (both medieval and modern).
• Email Address: chloe@umail.ucsb.edu

Daniel Michon (MA/PhD)

• BA, Political Science and Latin American Studies, Bowdoin College, 1992.
• M.Ed., Secondary Education, John Carroll University, 1994.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2002.
• CPhil, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2003.
• Email Address: dmichon@umail.ucsb.edu

Tara Munson (MA/PhD)

• BA, Liberal Studies (Sociology/Psychology, Art Studio), Midway College, 1996.
• Areas of Study: Religion and Politics, Religion and Nationalism, Islam in Southeast Asia, Women and Islam in the Philippines.
• Email Address: tvmunson@umail.ucsb.edu

Catherine Newell (MA/ PhD)

• BA, English Literature and Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2001.
• Areas of Study: Modern Jewish Philosophy and History, History of Science and Religion, Biblical Hebrew, Theology and the Popular Imagination.
• Email Address: clnewell@umail.ucsb.edu

Justin O'Jack (MA/PhD)

• BA, History of Religion, UC Santa Cruz, 1993.
• MA, Religious Studies (East Asian focus), UC Santa Barbara, 2002.
• Areas of Study: Chinese Religions; Chinese Religious Geography.
• Thesis Title: Auspicious Lights of the Golden Summit: Transforming the Religious Identity of a Sacred Mountain in Southwest China.
• PhD Fields: 1. Chinese Buddhism and Buddhist religious geography (William Powell) 2. Japanese cults and cultural systems (Allan Grapard) 3. Religion in secular Chinese literature--late imperial literati travelogues and vernacular fiction (Ronald Egan) 4. Daoist history and Sichuan religious geography (Franciscus Verellen, EFEO, Paris)
• Email Address: ojack@umail.ucsb.edu

Todd Perreira (PhD)

• BA, Comparative Religious Studies, San Jose State University, 1997.
• MTS, World Religions, Harvard University, 2000.
• Areas of Study: Southeast Asian Buddhism, Comparative Religious Ethics, Religion and Ecology.
• Teaching: Comparative Religious Studies Program, San Jose State University.
• Publications: "Sassana Sakon and The New Asian American: Intermarriage and Identity at a Thai Buddhist Temple in Silicon Valley" in Asian American Religions: Borders and Boundaries, edited by Tony Carnes and Yang Fenggang, (NYU Press, 2003, forthcoming).
• Current: Thai language acquisition at UC Berkeley.
• Email Address: perreira@ix.netcom.com

Alyson Prude (MA/PhD)

• BA, Philosophy, Pomona College, 1998.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2005.
• Areas of Study: Tibetan Religions and Culture, Anthropology of Religion, Religious Experience in China and South Asia.

Matt Recla (PhD)

• BA, History, Boise State University, 2000.
• MA, History, Boise State University, 2005.
• Areas of Study: Early Christianity, Imperial and Late Antique Roman Empire, Martyrdom, Philosophy of Religion.
• E-mail Address: mrecla@umail.ucsb.edu

Nathaniel Rich (MA/PhD)

• BA, Philosophy, Minor in History, Texas A&M University, 2000.
• Areas of Study: Indo-Tibetan Buddhist History and Culture, Buddhist Philosophical Traditions, Philosophy and Psychology of Religion, Meditation and Mysticism.
• Email Address: nathanielrich@hotmail.com

Kerry San Chirico (PhD)

• BS, Political Science, Santa Clara University, 1992.
• MDiv, Princeton Theological Seminary, 1999.
• MSW, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Social Work, 2000.
• MTh, Eastern Orthodox Theology and History, St. Vladimir's Seminary, 2002.
• MA, Systematic Theology; Minor: Comparative Theology, Boston College, 2005.
• Areas of Study: South Asian Religions, Hinduism, Christianity, Global Christianity, Inter-Religious Encounter, Methodology in Comparative Religon, History of Relgions.
• Email Address: kerrysc@yahoo.com

Emily A. Schmidt (PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2000.
• MTS, Ancient Christianity, Harvard Divinity School, 2004.
• Areas of Study: Religions of the Roman Empire, Ancient Chrisitianity, Archaeology of Religion, Religious Identity, Politics of Religion and Empire.
• Email Address: eschmidt@umail.ucsb.edu

Megan Adamson Sijapati (PhD)

• BA, Religion, Colorado College, 1996.
• MA, Religious Studies (South Asian focus),University of Colorado, Boulder, 2001.
• Areas of Study: Islam in South Asia, Women and Religion, South Asian Religious Reform Movements, Religious Conflict & Identity, Postcolonial Studies, Mysticism, Religions of the Himalayan Hills, Islam in Nepal.
• Email Address: megan_sijapati@umail.ucsb.edu

Albert Silva (PhD)

• BA, Biology, University of Pennsylvania, 2001.
• MLA, Religious Studies/Individualized Major, University of Pennsylvania, 2006.
• Areas of Study: American Religious History, Philosophy of Religion/Science, Religious Experience, Metaphysical Religions/Religiosity, Religion and Healing, Science and Religion, Music and Religion.
• Email Address: acsilva@umail.ucsb.edu

Leslie Smith (PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies, Southwest Missouri State University, 1997.
• MA, Religious Studies (Religion, Self, and Society focus), Southwest Missouri State University, 1999.
• Areas of Study: Gender, Protestant Fundamentalism, Critical/Social Theory, American Religions.
• Email Address: lesliesmith@umail.ucsb.edu

Suzanne E. Stillman (MA/PhD)

• BA, University of Arkansas, 1999.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2002.
• Areas of Study: Indian Hagiography, History of India (Medieval to Modern), Religious Nationalism, Historiography, Languages (Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit).
• Email Address: se_stillman@juno.com

Stephanie Stillman-Spisak (PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies and Sociology, Colgate University, 1999.
• MTS, Christianity and Culture, Harvard Divinity School, 2003.
• Areas of Study: History of Religion in the U.S., Philosophy of Religion, Social and Cultural Theory, Formations of Subjectivity, Memory and Memorialization.
• Email Address: sstillman@umail.ucsb.edu

Aaron J. Tapper (PhD)

• BA, The Johns Hopkins University, 1995.
• MTS, Harvard Divinity School, 2000.
• Certificate, Center for Arabic Studies Abroad, American University in Cairo, 2002.
• Areas of Study: Judaism, Islam, Modern Islamic Political Movements, Middle Eastern Politics, Non-violence, Conflict Resolution and Transformtation, Languages (Biblical Hebrew, Modern Hebrew, Modern Standard Arabic, Egyptian Colloquial Arabic).
• Email Address: aarontapper@hotmail.com

Masen Uliss (PhD)

• BA, Philosophy and Judaic Studies, Binghamton University, 1996.
• MA, Religious Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2001.
• Areas of Study: American Religious History, History of Religions,Aging and Retirement, Religion and Popular Culture, Race and Religion in the U.S., Contemporary Judaism.
• Email Address: uliss@umail.ucsb.edu

Aaron Ullrey (MA/PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies/English/Education, Michigan State University, 2001.
• Areas of Study: Sanskrit Language, Tibetan Language, Hindu Polytheism, Tantra, Philosophy of Religion.
• Email Address: aaron-ullrey@umail.ucsb.edu

Amy Black Voorhees (PhD)

• BA, Principia College, 1990.
• MA, Women's Studies, Ohio State University, 1993.
• MA, Christian History (American focus), Graduate Theological Union, 2004.
• Areas of Study: American Religions, Christian Science, Gendered Readings of Religious Experience.
• Email Address: amybv@mindspring.com

Sarah Whedon (PhD)

• BA, Religious Studies & Theatre Studies, Wellesley College, 1999.
• MA, Religious Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2001.
• CPhil, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2005.
• Areas of Study: American Religious History, Childhood & Religion, Gender & Religion, New Religious Movements.
• Email Address: whedon@umail.ucsb.edu

Jovi Young (PhD)

• BA, University of New Mexico, 1998.
• MTS, Harvard University, 2000.
• Areas of Study: Religion in American Popular Culture, Early Christianity/New Testament, Birth/Naming Rituals, Languages.
• Email Address: laisett@yahoo.com

Michelle Zimney (MA/PhD)

• BA, International Relations, Stanford University, 1990.
• MA, Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 1999.
• Certificate, Center for Arabic Study Abroad, American University in Cairo, 2000.
• Areas of Study: Islam, Modern Islamic Political Movements, Middle Eastern Politics, Algerian Civil War, Women and Gender in the Middle East, Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Human Rights.
• Email Address: zimney@umail.ucsb.edu